Praggnanandhaa Maintains Joint Lead at FIDE Candidates Tournament
Praggnanandhaa's Performance in Round Two
In the second round of the FIDE Candidates tournament, Praggnanandhaa faced Wei Yi from China, resulting in a straightforward draw while playing with black pieces. After a remarkable victory against Anish Giri in the first round, Praggnanandhaa seemed to carry his momentum into the second day, applying pressure on his opponent early in the game, which featured a French defense. However, Wei Yi opted for a less complicated approach, leading to a series of exchanges that culminated in a drawn endgame with opposite-colored bishops. Although Praggnanandhaa had an extra pawn, Wei Yi's position proved to be unassailable, and the game concluded after 46 moves.
Standings | After Round 1 | FIDE Candidates & Women's Candidates 2026🇺🇿 Javokhir Sindarov, 🇺🇸 Fabiano Caruana, and 🇮🇳 Praggnanandhaa R share the lead after the first round.#FIDECandidates #Chess #FIDE #Cyprus pic.twitter.com/9hKPnFkzME
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) March 29, 2026
After the second day, Praggnanandhaa spoke to the media, reflecting on his performance. He acknowledged the need for improvement, stating, “I think I still need to learn from it because I played like five tournaments in the last six months, and all five of them went poorly. I think it’s something I should learn to recover from a bad tournament. But here, it’s just a start. A good start is great, but I still have to play my best. There are 12 more games, so I have to keep focusing and keep giving my best.”
Discussing his game strategy, he mentioned, “I don’t think the French defense itself was a surprise. I mean, I’ve played the French recently, so I don’t think it will come as a big surprise. But yeah, it’s not clear what I actually played after that, because I have played a lot of lines, many different lines even though I have only a few games.” He expressed satisfaction with his opening position and time management during the game.
Praggnanandhaa also analyzed a critical moment in the match, identifying a missed opportunity. He suggested that playing c4 instead of rook f7 could have been more advantageous, as it would have restricted Wei Yi's options and allowed him to advance his pawns more effectively. Despite this, he concluded that the game was satisfactory for both players, stating, “Maybe we could have played a bit better but I think it was just fine for both of us.”